Gates of Fire And Gold

Chapter 48

For the first week or so, I'm in utter bliss. I walk around with a big, stupid smile on my face that piques the curiosity of each of my housemates. When they stop me to ask what's up, I give a vague response about it almost being summer and then walk away with an even bigger grin.

Yes. The first week I'm airborne.

It's the second week that I start to teeter.

It's the week I see the man from Ida's office again; the one who was with her when I stood outside her door, eavesdropping. This time, he's on t.v. It turns out he's a politician. And he's running for President.

That's not what does it.

There are reports of a few of the Lockworths' properties appearing on the real estate market.

Big deal. That doesn't bother me.

But then there's the announcement. The one that stirs everyone up: This will be the final year for the Willow Dawn Lockworth Award.

That one rattles me.

Along with everyone else, I start wondering. I start speculating. I start questioning things.

And this is where the turbulence begins.

One afternoon, the media starts buzzing about the nupital arrangements for Khan and Havannah. They say the guestlist consists of over seven hundred people. They say the budget is twenty-five million, and it's going to be the star-studded event of the decade.

They mention that I didn't make the guest list. An 'inside source' says that I'm falling apart over it.

No one has any idea what's really going on with me. They have no idea I'm going to be a princess. And, eventually, Queen.

A reporter from a major tabloid reaches out to me via email, asking me if I have any insider info on what's happening with the Lockworths. He promises me anonymity. He promises me money, too.

I know I shouldn't respond. I know I shouldn't do it.

But I just can't help myself.

So I email him back and tell him I do have something I'd like to share.